The July 26, 2013 Edition of Smackdown is a Professional wrestling television show of the WWE's Smackdown brand, which took place on July 24, 2013 at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Summary[]
In their first-ever confrontation, World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio found a way to ground the high-flying Rob Van Dam, while Damien Sandow became intimately acquainted with the Gulf of Mexico.
SmackDown kicked off with a battle of “Messrs. Money in the Bank,” as Randy Orton squared off against Damien Sandow in a brutally physical bout. Sandow, the self-professed “uncrowned World Heavyweight Champion,” had fighting words for the Texas members of the WWE Universe before the bell, but Orton let his actions speak even louder inside the squared circle, preferring to trade blows instead of barbs.
As the Friday night battle raged, Cody Rhodes made his way to ringside – stealing The Intellectual Savior of the Masses’ attention, and, more importantly, his coveted Money in the Bank contract. As he did, The Viper spun his haughty opponent around and directly into a ring-shaking RKO for the victory!
Rhodes then circled back into the fallen Sandow's periphery, flaunting the stolen briefcase a bit before ultimately walking up the ramp and making his exit.
CM Punk returned to SmackDown with a pointed message for former friend and business associate, Paul Heyman, and Heyman's monstrous client, Brock Lesnar. Just one week after “The Best vs. The Beast” showdown was set in stone for SummerSlam, Punk was in rare form, informing the fired-up Texas crowd that the pay-per-view blockbuster of a match is exactly what he wanted.
Punk's scathing tongue-lashing reached its crescendo when he proclaimed that, “Brock’s biggest weakness is the fact that he trusts Paul Heyman.” The former WWE Champion then stated emphatically that it will be that trust that will lead to Lesnar's downfall.
Just as Punk ramped up his rhetoric, though, Fandango shimmied his way down the ramp to cut in on The Straight Edge Superstar. Punk's answer: A GTS that left Fandango lying flat outside the ring.
With The Shield stalking Mark Henry over the past several weeks, The World's Strongest Man has found himself in an unlikely alliance with The Usos of late. On SmackDown, that newfound partnership was put to the test as they took on The Prime Time Players & Wade Barrett in six-man tag team action.
It was Henry who would ultimately be the deciding factor in the bout, planting Titus O’Neil with The World's Strongest Slam en route to a big Friday night victory.
Now the question remains — will their SmackDown triumph put the wind at the trio's backs as they prepare to battle The Hounds of Justice Monday on Raw?
Sandow searched for Rhodes and his Money in the Bank contract As the action continued on the blue brand, a briefcase-less Damien Sandow stalked the backstage area throughout SmackDown — including storming into recently appointed GM Vickie Guerrero's office — frantically asking everyone he crossed paths with if they’d seen Cody Rhodes.
Before locking up with Rob Van Dam for the first time ever, World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio chatted up new SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero, telling her she “owes” him for pitting the titleholder against RVD. With WWE Champion John Cena allowed the opportunity to choose his SummerSlam opponent, Del Rio said he deserved the same chance.
In the action that followed, RVD appeared well on his way to catapulting himself into that World Title picture. But after the high-flyer hit his opponent with a particularly flurried offensive assault, Del Rio took cover in the corner and repeatedly exclaimed, “No mas!” to the referee.
Not understanding the champion, the official kept an advancing RVD at bay, allowing Del Rio to sneak in a brutal kick to the face and handing the ECW Original his first singles loss since returning to WWE.
Looking to “clear the air” about her current mental and emotional states, Divas Champion AJ Lee talked about her (now defunct) relationship with Dolph Ziggler and her fractured friendship with Kaitlyn. To the surprise of many, AJ told the WWE Universe that she was just fine, thanks to her Divas Title.
When The Showoff emerged to dispute AJ's claims of clarity, things took a turn for the worst, leading to an emotional outburst (read: full-blown temper tantrum) on the part of the Divas Champion.
The unhinged Diva's explosion was quelled only when Kaitlyn appeared out of nowhere and crushed the pint-sized powder keg with a thundering Spear at ringside. Then, when Big E Langston went to check on AJ, Ziggler leveled his former buddy with the Famouser and left his past in a heap at ringside.
With enigmatic leader Bray Wyatt looking on from his ringside rocking chair, “Family” members Luke Harper & Erick Rowan competed in their WWE debut match against Brodus Clay & Tensai. In what was an all-out brawl, Rowan & Harper displayed a frightening aggressiveness, and a massive splash by Rowan on “Sweet T” ended the match in a hurry.
However, that wasn't the end for Tons of Funk, as Bray Wyatt chose to exert his seemingly hypnotic control over his followers, who cleared the path for him to further decimate Tensai.
Wyatt then delivered another cryptic message to Kane, telling The Big Red Monster, “If you need me, I’ll be right here with all my friends! We’ve been waiting for you, Kane ... Look to the sky and follow the buzzards.”
Zeb Colter accompanied Jack Swagger to the ring and spewed his warped rhetoric before launching into an emphatic “We the People!” proclamation.
Captain Charisma then locked up with The Real American inside the ring, and Swagger dominated the match early on. But, wily ring veteran that he is, Christian found a way to roll out of The Patriot Lock, and then rammed Swagger shoulder-first into the steel ring post before dropping his controversial opponent with The Killswitch for the win!
Christian didn't have much time to celebrate his victory, however, as Damien Sandow returned to the ring, still incensed that Cody Rhodes had absconded with his Money in the Bank contract and demanding that Rhodes be arrested for grand larceny and that Vickie Guerrero fire him for his actions.
At the height of Sandow's rant inside the SmackDown ring, Cody suddenly appeared via the TitanTron, Money in the Bank briefcase in hand and standing in front of the Gulf of Mexico. After “the son of the son of a plumber” told his former tag team partner to “come get it,” Sandow rushed out of the arena to meet Rhodes and regain his goods.
When the canceled cohorts finally came face to face, Sandow begged and pleaded with Rhodes. Telling Sandow he's “earned this,” Cody appeared ready to hand the case over, but instead chucked it into the drink! Sandow — who cannot swim, mind you — then launched into an epic freak-out.
Contemplating the importance of the contents inside the case, however, Sandow jumped in anyway, flailing and panicking in the water before paddling back to shore defeated. From there, Mr. Money in the Bank could only watch as his briefcase — and the contract within — sank to the bottom of the Gulf.
The Intellectual Savior of the Masses was left all wet – weeping and coughing up water as SmackDown went off the air.
Results[]
- Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.
- (c) refers to the champion(s) heading into the match.
- Randy Orton defeated Damien Sandow (11:36)
- The Usos (Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso) & Mark Henry defeated Prime Time Players (Darren Young & Titus O'Neil) & Wade Barrett (3:28)
- Alberto Del Rio defeated Rob Van Dam (2:31)
- The Wyatt Family (Erick Rowan & Luke Harper) defeated Tons of Funk (Brodus Clay & Tensai) (w/ Cameron and Naomi) (1:05)
- Christian defeated Jack Swagger (w/ Zeb Colter) (5:16)
- Dark match: CM Punk defeated Fandango
- Dark match: Dolph Ziggler defeated Big E. Langston (w/ AJ Lee)
Other on-screen talent[]
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Image Gallery[]
Randy Orton v Damien Sandow[]
Punk dropped a Pipebomb … and Fandango[]
Six Man Tag Team Match[]
Alberto Del Rio v Rob Van Dam[]
AJ Lee delivered “State of Her Mind Address”[]
The Wyatt Family v Tons of Funk[]
Christian v Jack Swagger[]
Cody Rhodes sunk Mr. Money in the Bank[]
See also[]
External links[]
WWE Smackdown #727 at CAGEMATCH.net- [Smackdown #727 on WWE Network]
